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Chapter 53: This Love

Chapter 53: This Love

August

It's a hot, dry day, but thunderstorms threaten in the Southeast. When I get to the swimming hole, I set down my fishing tackle and cooler. Then Homie and I follow the dirt trail back through the forest. I want to get up somewhere high, to watch the clouds roll in.

I love the way the air feels right before a storm. Full of electricity. And the energy from the wildlife shifts. Birds fly from tree to tree and call out to each other. I often wonder what it is they're saying.

I reach the trunk of my tree that stands at the edge of the forest.

"You gotta stay right here, boy," I tell him. "I'll be back soon."

I climb up to my favorite limb and look out at the ranch that rolls in green pastures of undulating hills. The sun is lowering in the west, lighting the trees up a bright neon green against the backdrop of the sky to the south that darkens like a purple bruise. We're supposed to be on the dirty side of a hurricane.

I hear thunder in the distance, and Homie wines a little, getting restless. I'm just about to call down to him, when I see her.

It's Peyton.

She walks up to the dog and squats down. "Hey, bud," she says. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

Homie wags his tail and licks her face. She pets him on the head, looking for a collar and tag. 

I pull off an acorn and toss it down at her, hitting her on the shoulder. Her head snaps back as she searches the canopy above her. 

"Hey!" she calls.

"Hey," I say back. "What're you doing here?"

She shrugs. "Just wanted to talk."

I gaze out at the distance, nodding my head.

"You coming down?" she asks.

"You coming up?" I ask back.

She takes a deep breath. "I can try," she finally says. The lowest branch is large, so she doesn't have trouble with that one. But they get much further apart the higher you go.

She finally reaches the branch below mine. "Okay, this is where I stop," she says. She grins, but she seems nervous.

Play it cool.

I pick a leaf off the branch and study it. "So, what's up?"

"Whose dog is that?" She asks, nodding at Homie.

I look down at him wagging his tail looking back up at me. "I guess he's mine now."

"He's so cute. What's his name?"

"Homie," I say.

Something like recognition filters into her eyes. "After my robot baby?" She asks.

"Long story. But, yeah. They both needed someone to take care of them I guess."

She nods.

"Why are you here?" I ask her.

"I don't know." She swings her legs back and forth. "Guess I just wanted to say goodbye. I heard you're going to college."

"I am. But I'm not going far. Gonna live here for the time being."

"Oh," she says.

"I renovated one of the cabins. Looks pretty good. Like a nice place to live."